Crossed wires over 'fixed' phones (From Oxford Mail)

Crossed wires over 'fixed' phones

10:40am Friday 27th April 2012 in Abingdon

PEOPLE in Wootton have been given the wrong numbers after they were told their phones had been “fixed”.

Would-be thieves attempted to steal cable from a manhole cover close to the junction of Foxcombe Road with Chiswick Lane last Tuesday, leaving more than 400 homes in Dry Sandford, Wootton and Boars Hill without connections.

Lines were restored on Friday, but some customers say BT’s repair job has meant they have the wrong phone numbers. Rosemary Coughlen, of Matthews Way, said: “People have left messages ordering cakes and I have had people phone me up with cake orders.

“I feel sorry for the person who is not getting these calls because they must be losing business.”

She does not know what number the people are calling, but knows her own phone number is directed to one of her neighbours.

BT spokesman Emma Littlejohn said: “We are aware of some customers experiencing this issue.

“With the severe damage caused to the cable, sometimes a couple of lines get crossed. We do our best to stop this from happening and the vast majority of lines have been connected.

“Our engineers have been working to resolve this, but we would ask anyone to double check their line and report any issues to their service provider as soon as possible so our engineers can fix.”